Mail for Mac: Add attachments in Mail

When you attach images or PDF documents, you can mark them up in Mail before you send your message.

Add photos and other files

Do any of the following:

Drag files from the desktop, the Finder, or an app into your message.

Click the Attach button in the toolbar, locate a file (you may need to click the sidebar button to see additional folders), select it, then click Choose File.

For photos, you can click the Photo Browser button in the toolbar, then drag a photo into your message.

By default, Mail inserts images at their actual size. If different sizes are available, you can choose one from the pop-up menu located on the right side of the message header.

Send large attachments using Mail Drop

You can use Mail Drop to send files that exceed the maximum size allowed by your email account provider. Mail Drop uploads large attachments to iCloud, where they’re encrypted and stored for up to 30 days.

If you have an iCloud account and you’re signed in to iCloud when you click Send, Mail automatically sends the attachments using Mail Drop. Mail Drop attachments don’t count against your iCloud storage.

If you don’t have an iCloud account, or if you’re not signed in, Mail asks you whether to use Mail Drop (to always use Mail Drop select “Don’t ask again for this account”).

If a recipient uses Mail in OS X v10.10 or later, the attachments are included in your message. For other recipients, your message includes links for downloading the attachments, and their expiration date.

You can turn Mail Drop on or off for an account. Choose Mail > Preferences, click Accounts, select the account, click Advanced, then select or deselect “Send large attachments with Mail Drop.”

For more information about Mail Drop, see the Apple Support article Mail Drop limits.

Put attachments at the end of messages

For the current message: Choose Edit > Attachments > Insert Attachments at End of Message.

Include or exclude attachments in replies

Include original attachments in a reply: In the toolbar of the message window, click the Include Attachment button or choose Edit > Attachments > Include Original Attachments in Reply (a checkmark shows it’s on).

Exclude original attachments in a reply: In the toolbar of the message window, click the Exclude Attachment button or choose Message > Remove Attachments (a checkmark shows it’s on).

Include original attachments in all replies: From the Message viewer, choose Edit > Attachments > Include Original Attachments in Reply (a checkmark shows it’s on).

Send attachments to Windows users

Follow these suggestions:

Make sure you send Windows-friendly attachments. To do so for all messages, from the Message viewer choose Edit > Attachments, then make sure Always Send Windows-Friendly Attachments is selected (it has a checkmark). For a specific message you’re writing, click the Attach button in the toolbar of the message window, then make sure Send Windows-Friendly Attachments is selected (if you don’t see this checkbox, click Options in the bottom corner).

Instead of sending a Pages, Keynote, or Numbers document, you can export the document as a PDF, then send the PDF.

Use filename extensions (such as .docx for a Microsoft Word document).

If the recipient sees two attachments (such as “MyFile” and “._MyFile”), the recipient can ignore the file with the underscore (such as “._MyFile”).

If the message size shown on the left side of the message header is red, the attachments are causing your message to exceed size limits set by your email account provider. Try reducing the number or size of attachments or use Mail Drop.